Wrought metal article



Patented Oct. 4, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WILLIAM H. BASSETT, J'B., OF SCAKSDALE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN BRASS COMPANY, OI WATEBBUBY, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT WROUGHT METAL ARTICLE No Drawing.

My invention relates to animprovement in wrought metal articles and an alloy for producing them, and comprises a cuprous alloy and wrought metal article made therefrom as hereinafter described containing tin, aluminum and silicon. I This article and alloy is an improvement onthat disclosed in my prior Patent No. 1,630,999 dated May 31, 1927, for a wroughtmetal article.

I have discovered that by changing somewhat the proportions of the elements noted in the patent, but principally by replacing part of the aluminum with-silicon, certain advantages are secured. The resultant alloy, particularly when worked into wrought articles, has very high tensile strength and is a good electrical conductor considering its high strength. That is, when compared with other high strength non-ferrous wires, for example, it has high conductivity. In short it has all the desirable properties of the atented alloy including good electrical con uctivity, very high strength, excellent resistance to fatigue, is extremely ductile, exceedingly malleable, and has very high resistance to atmospheric corrosion and equal resistance to the action of corrosive substances,such as acids and alkalies. In addition its hot working (hot rolling) temperatures are not critical, and it hardens more rapidly during cold working, such as drawing, than the patented alloy so that less work is necessary to attain a specified tensile strength. It can therefore.

be hot rolled to a smaller size before drawing and thus is more economical to manufacture, as .cold drawing is more expensive than hot rolling. Even with the high tensile strength around its own diameter without brea 'ng.

The wire can be fabricated with the ordinary hot rolling and continuous drawing operations which are normally used for copper and copper rich alloys. In short it has all the desirable properties of the patented allo with the additional advantage (among others) of hardening quicker and not needing so much cold drawing and so is cheaper to manufacture. In addition to being easily hot rolled it can be forged and cold rolled Application filed August 16, 1932. Serial R0. 828,985.

or drawn, and when cold drawn has high ductility so that it can be bent without breaking. It can also be extruded and hot pressed.

It is particularly adapted for making wrought metal articles ada ted for electric railway line material and high strength cables, or cable elements, contact trolley wires, telephone or telegraph wires, electric railway line hardware, and the like.

My improved alloy is composed essentially of copper, tin, aluminum and silicon. The

preferred proportions are approximately 96.25% copper, 1.7 5% tin, 1.00% aluminum, and 1.00% silicon. The proportions can be varied somewhat, and the lower the amount of silicon the higher the electrical conductivity. The copper can be varied from approximately 91% to 99%, tin from 0.25% to 3.0%, aluminum from 0.5% to 4.0%, and silicon from 0.25% to 2.0%.

In producing the alloy I bring the copper to a molten condition at pouring temperature and then introduce the tin and later the aluminum and silicon, stirring meanwhile so as to produce a uniform mixture. In order to attain the best results, hi h should be used and the oxi es ept as low as possible. In forming the alloy I keep a-layer of eharcoal on the surface of the molten materia Wire composed of the alloy is made by the usual methods, such as extruding or hot rollin ingots into rods and cold drawing the ro s into wire.

Having thus set forth the nature of my invention, what I claim is 1. An alloy composed of approximately 91% to 99% copper, 0.25% to 3.0% tin, 0.5% to 4.0% aluminum, and 0.25% to 2.0% silicon.

2. An alloy comprising ap roximately 96.25% copper, 1.75% tin, 1.00 0 aluminum and 1.00% silicon.

3. A. wrought metal article composed of an alloy comprising approximately 91% to 99% copper, 0.25% to 3.0% tin, 0.5% to 4.0% aluminum, and 0.25% to 2.0% silicon.

4. A. wrought metal article com osed of an alloy comprising approximately 6.25% copper, 1.75% tin, 1.00% aluminum and 1.00% silicon.

urity metals I 5 A cold drawn wire composed of an alloy comprising approximately 91% to 99% copper, 0.25% to 3.0% tin, 0.5% to 4.0% aluminum, and 0.25% to 2.0%silicon.

I 6. A cold drawn wire composed of an alloy comprising approximately 96.25% copper, 1.75% tin, 1.00% aluminum and 1.00% silicon.

In testimoni whereof I aflix m signature.

WI LIAM H. BASSfiTT, JR. 

